Saturday, October 26, 2013
This is what it looks like inside the old Lichtenstein building. It’s been unoccupied for more than a quarter of a century, and during that time, the building has withstood some major abuse.
Project Manager Robert Howe told 3 News, “What’s happened is the roof has been open so we’ve had water penetration into the building, of course what happens then is water gets inside the concrete and it degrades the steal reinforcement in the concrete, so while appearances are the concrete’s still in tact, it’s the inner structure that is a concern in a building like this.”
After demolition, Realtex development will build a $29 million dollar retail and residential project of 165 apartments, with some 3800 square feet of ground floor retail space. the developer says the luxurious apartment project is the kind of thing you would see in downtown Houston, Austin or San Antonio.
Development Corporation President Rick Deyoe told 3 News, “the project will include granite countertops, it’ll include stainless steal appliances, we’ve got several different floor plans, both one bedroom and two bedroom and we’ve got framed mirrors in the bathrooms, just about every upscale amenity that you can find in a project, we’ve got in this one.”
Local leaders say the quality of the residential and retail project is nothing like anything Corpus Christi has ever seen before.
District 2 City Council Member Chad Magill told 3 News, “this project means everything to down town, and what that means is you’re bringing people back to downtown. How do you breathe life into a downtown? is you bring people.”
Precinct 1 Nueces County Commissioner Mike Pulsey told 3 News, “one of the things that the experts all tell us is to revitalize the downtown, you’ve got to have a component of people being able to live here, and residences and this will go along way to do that.”
And to honor the historic and iconic heritage of the building, the project will incorporate the Lichtenstein tiles.